So the first year my husband and I were married, my sister-in-law Stephanie gave us a little box of homemade Christmas candy and I loved it. I also realized that I was suddenly in the realm of Christmas treat-giving. How grown-up.

Anyway, inspired by Stephanie (who makes awesome toffee, by the way. And check out her cakes), the next year I decided to make Christmas treats for our friends and family. In fact, I think Stephanie and I made them together while our husbands bought toilet paper together at Costco. No joke. However, as I was packaging the treats up, I realized that I was a few treats short and I really didn’t want another toffee fiasco (don’t ask). So I made this instead, modifying it from 2 large loaves to 5 mini loaves. It quickly became a family favorite and a staple in Christmas treat-giving.

Funny story, and then we’ll get cooking. A few years ago, I made a bunch of these for some people who helped me with a project. After I baked them, they just didn’t seem quite right, but I still delivered them. And never heard the usual “oohs” and “aaahs” that I get from this bread. So I took a bite and something was seriously wrong. And then I remembered that I forgot the oil. So don’t forget the oil, but if you do, don’t feel stupid because I did, too…

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, and flavorings and beat for 2 minutes. Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk and then mix until just combined. Add poppyseeds and mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pans (5 mini pans or 2 regular loaf pans) and bake (35-40 minutes for mini pans, 1 hour for large pans; keep an eye on them). When done, place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes

and then remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. While cooling, prepare glaze by combining all glaze ingredients. Drizzle over loaves and allow to harden.

I like to place these in cellophane goody bags (found in the cake decorating section of Walmart or a craft store like Michael’s) and tie with a ribbon

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If possible, try not to package these in cellophane until ready to deliver because after awhile, the moisture will condense in the bag and the glorious sugary crust on the bread will liquify and soak into the bread. Which, don’t get me wrong, tastes great, but the slightly-crispy texture on top of the soft bread may just be the best part.

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, and flavorings and beat for 2 minutes. Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk and then mix until just combined. Add poppyseeds and mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pans (5 mini pans or 2 regular loaf pans) and bake (35-40 minutes for mini pans, 1 hour for large pans; keep an eye on them). When done, place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes

and then remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. While cooling, prepare glaze by combining all glaze ingredients. Drizzle over loaves and allow to harden.

If possible, try not to package these in cellophane until ready to deliver because after awhile, the moisture will condense in the bag and the glorious sugary crust on the bread will liquify and soak into the bread. Which, don’t get me wrong, tastes great, but the slightly-crispy texture on top of the soft bread may just be the best part.

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First, I have to say, you read my mind. I was just getting on here to be inspired by something I can take to the school bake sale and THIS is perfect! Second, thanks for the “shout-out”. I feel special that my name is out there in the universe! LOL! It’s funny because Jenny always remembers funny details too! I vaguely remember making candy with you, but not the husbands-shopping-at-Costco part. Ahh, good times. Anyway, thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to make these!

OK, another “must try” recipe….. I wonder how it would be made into mini muffins. I’m always trying to make things into mini muffins for my kids to grab and go. I wonder if the top would get crusty like it does on the loaves….

It IS a small world -besides all of the mutual friends, we must own the same ward cookbook too! A lady in our ward was ‘famous’ for making this bread so we always had it growing up. It was the second recipe I posted on my blog when I started it, it is SO good!

This is an amazing recipe. It is the same as I have, except we pour our batter into a bundt pan, bake for 1 hr, turn it out, and put the glaze on top and slice it up~it’s beautiful! I won a blue ribbon at the fair with it. oooohhh, I want to make it now!

um . . . shouldn't that be confectioner's sugar and not granulated? i wasn't paying attention to the fact that i was making a glaze and just followed the recipe – granulated sugar does not a glaze make! (other than that – this tastes awesome! especially the day after Ü)

My mom gave me your cookbook for Mother’s Day and I found this recipe this afternoon and made it into muffins for my kids’ after school snack. Even healthified (wheat flour, oil substitute, no glaze — does that sound horrible?) they were a huge hit! I am loving the cookbook.

I just made this early this morning but I made them into muffins for breakfast! They go perfect with your ham and egg cups! But what I just noticed is that the butter flavoring isn’t in the cookbook for this recipe. Is that right? Does it make a big difference in the flavor?

This bread is amazing!! I made mini loaves along with pretzel turtles and homemade marshmallows for my husband to give to his professors/fellow grad students. We’ve gotten so many compliments! Oh, and for what it’s worth, this recipe made 6 mini loaves for me.

Question for you smart ladies, can I use vegetable oil in place of canola oil? I never have canola oil…. what in the world is the difference, does it bake or taste different? Thanks, can’t wait to make these!! Mmmmmmmmmm!!

Mandy, canola oil is a lighter oil than vegetable oil and a healthier fat. You can use vegetable oil instead, but I suggest switching to canola oil in all your cooking and baking when you finish your bottle of vegetable oil. Canola oil is healthier and I think it tastes better because it isn’t as heavy.

Hey, I don’t know if you care or not, but I learned a trick on how to get the sides of quick breads to bake down instead of curling up. So I spray my pans with cooking spray, then flour them. I knock out the extra flour and then with a paper towel I wipe out the top half of the flour/grease. So basically just the bottom and an inch or so up the sides of the pan are greased and floured. It works really well, but takes a littel bit of extra time. If I don’t have time I don’t worry about it, but I like doing it if I’m giving them away. I love this recipe. Mine is a bit different, but very close to this one. I just made it this week and for the first time I was disappointed in it (besides the time I use part applesauce instead of oil–FYI that does not work with this bread :). It was much dryer than usual. I’m pretty sure it’s because I cut the oil down a little bit. I swear I’ve done that before and it still turned out perfectly moist, but it didn’t work so well this time. Lesson learned!

Hi, I bought some ceramic mini loaf pans which are decorated for Christmas … going to give them as teacher’s gifts, etc. Do you think after I bake these that I can leave them in the ceramic pans that they are baked in, or do they need to be turned out to cool properly? Thanks!

I just made this bread (let’s get honest…this is cake). I brought it over to my parents house to share and my little bro. tried a piece and told me that all he wanted for Christmas from me is more of this cake. lol – it really is just that good!

Thanks for this amazing recipe! I made mini loaves for all our friends and neighbors for Christmas this year and they were a hit! I learned after a few batches to go really easy on the non-stick spray to keep them from getting all crazy on top when they bake. I got tons of compliments and had to make an extra batch because we couldn’t stop eating them too!

I’m a novice here, but this is really enticing me. What if I want to make one loaf; how would i split 3 eggs and 1-1/2 c and tsp of ingredients. Many of your recipes yield more than i need! Thanks, in advance, for the help

This sweet bread is soooooo good! I have made this recipe many, many times and everyone just loves it. I always double it and it freezes great with the glaze on it too!Thank you for a awesome recipe, it is super easy, moist and very tasty, and freezes great!

A great place to get Butter extract is Olive Nation, but be warned, their site is like a candy store for bakers. So many REAL extracts in flavors you thought you’d never see. I found it looking for Butter Extract for this very recipe last fall. Their prices are very reasonable, shipping is quick and Customer Service is AH-mazing.

Oh and I upped the poppy seeds to 2 Tbsp. It’s my most popular holiday gift.